Confirmation of gold mineralisation on the western flank of the Irvine Basalt at the Resolution lode has potentially opened up Aureka (ASX:AKA) to an entirely new area of gold prospectivity on what is already its largest and most advanced project.
The initial assay result confirms gold mineralisation on both sides of the Irvine Basalt shows similarities to the Magdala Basalt, which hosts the more than 5 million ounce Stawell Goldfield.
Aureka, which has a market capitalisation of $12.8 million, is now reviewing to factor in the new area of interest and incorporate into follow-up programs at Irvine.
Managing Director James Gurry says the new mineralisation, outside known areas, validates Irvine as one of Victoria’s most substantial undeveloped gold projects.
“It is great to see mineralisation that potentially expands the already substantial size of the Irvine Project where over 300,000 ounces of inferred gold resource has already been discovered, in addition to the identified 280,000-420,000 ounce exploration target range,” Gurry says.
The company reports the best result includes 0.32m @ 4.72 grams per tonne gold from 159m. Assays from the second hole remain pending.
Previous drilling at Resolution to date focused primarily on testing the eastern flank of the Irvine Basalt and had allowed Aureka to define a JORC-compliant mineralisation resource of 304,000 ounces of gold at Resolution and along strike to the south at the Adventure prospect.
Aureka notes that a number of historically small gold prospects do occur on the western side of the Irvine Basalt near the contact of the Basalt and adjoining western Albion Formation sediments. However, limited follow-up exploratory drilling had been undertaken around or beneath these potential targets up until now.
Aureka’s flagship Irvine Gold Project, located in western Victoria, sits 16km south of the Stawell Gold Mine. More than $11.5 million has been spent on the asset since its in 2015.
Victoria is a world-renowned gold province with various deposit styles and pre-competitive geoscientific data and knowledge to improve targeting and reduce mineral exploration risk.
Although Victoria receives less attention than states such as Western Australia, production and exploration expenditure remain buoyant.
Production is in the order of about 650,000 ounces of gold per annum, coming mainly from four deposits. The state has produced more than 2,500 tonnes (80 million ounces) of the precious metal.
The Geological Survey of Victoria regularly scans exploration and mining activity across the state and compiles a list of recently issued media releases by companies. There are only about 20 ASX-listed gold companies active in the state, including Aureka.
Australian gold output rose to 72 tonnes in Q4 2024 and is projected to rise over the outlook period to 377 tonnes a year by 2029-30 (from 289 in 2023-24), with output lifting across multiple large-scale operations and new projects coming online.
According to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) March 2025 Resources and Energy Quarterly, Australia’s gold production is forecast to increase by about 20 tonnes in 2025 from around 300 tonnes in 2024.
Production in 2024 was impacted by planned outages and rain. An increase in Australian production is anticipated over the forecast period, as a pipeline of gold projects progresses.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Aureka
